Lonely Days and Empty Beds
by Trigzl
Summary: Yukimi goes on a short trip and leaves Miharu alone at the apartment with Yoite the cat. *Contains manga spoliers! Takes place after chapter 53 or so of the manga. Rated T for mild language. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **So I finally got around to reading the Nabari no Ou manga! (I first watched the anime about 4 years ago and have re-watched it about 8 times since then but never touched the mange until now.) And I love it so much! Yukimi and Miharu's relationship makes me so happy. The chapters around 53 and up are my favorites~**

 **Anyway, so I'm obsessed with the manga (except that last chapter- because all it did was confuse me.) And, for a while I thought about how, honestly, the manga contains pretty much any fanfiction I would write for this story because it has everything I wanted to happen.**

 **But I still wanted to find something to write about. So here you go. Hopefully I'll have more short stories to post as well. Thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer:** **The rights of Nabari no Ou and its characters belong to the wonderful Yuhki Kamatani.**

* * *

Yukimi was leaving on a trip for a few days. Business had called him to another town over and he thought it best not to reject the offer. He was already in low standing at work because of his injury. But although he accepted it, this trip was the last thing he wanted to be doing right now.

"I'll just be gone two days," he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, "Can I trust you not to burn the place down?" He pointed his finger at Miharu.

The boy was standing with the black cat in his arms, "I'll try my best."

"And don't forget to feed Yoite," Yukimi reminded him for the hundredth time.

"I've taken care of a cat before," Miharu replied, rolling his eyes.

Yukimi gave him a look but kept quiet about it. "Call me if you need anything. I'll see you in two days. Be safe."

"You too," Miharu let Yoite jump out of his arms as the door shut.

He was fine for the first few hours, but late in the afternoon, Miharu felt the loneliness sink in. He didn't want to go anywhere or do anything. No one's company would be what he wanted He started to get lost in that deep dark hole that was carved in his chest. He didn't know what else to do.

Yukimi's camera was sitting on the edge of his desk. Miharu took it in his hands and sat on the floor. He took a bunch of pictures. Some of Yoite running across the floor or pawing at the lens. Others of the window and the buildings outside. He took a few pictures of himself lying on his back on the floor. He looked dead inside. Yoite crawled over his stomach and Miharu didn't move. He just stared at his face in the camera screen. The sun started to set and so he went to the window and took sunset pictures. They turned out well. Yukimi would like them.

Yoite meowed and wandered to his bowl, asking for food. Miharu eventually found the energy to get up and fill the food bowl for the cat. Yoite began eating right away. Miharu wasn't hungry, but he figured he should eat as well.

He cooked up some rice and vegetables. Just something simple. But halfway through cooking, he realized that he had made two servings. "Leftovers I guess," he mumbled. He scooped the extra serving into a glass storage bowl and stuck a piece of masking tape to it with Yukimi's name.

That night went by slowly. And the aching in his heart grew. He pulled out his cell phone. The one Yukimi had given him. But hadn't there been another phone? Yukimi had bought two, hadn't he?

Miharu squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He was slipping away again. That _someone_ obviously didn't want to be found. So he needed to stop searching for him.

The phone showed 11:57pm. It was probably too late to call Yukimi tonight. Besides, what would he say? Miharu left his phone on the counter. He didn't want to disturb the man anyway.

His feet led him automatically to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, all the while avoiding the mirror. He didn't want to see his eyes. They felt lifeless and he felt empty. When he was done, he bid Yoite goodnight and went to his room.

The dark walls and small space suddenly seemed cramped and suffocating. He felt anxious and the hole in his heart started bursting. The normal familiarity of his room seemed abnormal and alien to him. Shadows shifted on the walls and sent shapes moving across the ceiling. He crept out of the covers and snuck out of his room. Miharu shuffled down the hall to Yukimi's room and slipped into his empty bed. The smell of Yukimi was comforting and masked his loneliness. With his eyes closed, it was like the older shinobi was there with him.


	2. Chapter 2

When Miharu awoke, he was facing a wall filled with sticky notes and pages taped to more pages and things pinned up with tacks. He let his confused brain cycle through the morning grogginess to piece together where he was. With that figured out, he sunk back into the covers and breathed in. Maybe he would just stay here all day. The idea of stepping out into the cold, vacant apartment scared him.

Yoite jumped onto the bed and meowed impatiently. Miharu turned to look at the alarm clock on Yukimi's side table. 10:34am. He closed his eyes again, trying to drown out the world. But Yoite kept pawing gently at his face, making it impossible to return to sleep. He reached out to stroke the cat's back, letting the feline press his face against Miharu's hand and crawl over his chest. He eventually got up and went to pour the cat more food. Yoite ate while Miharu went to find his own food. He decided that he wasn't hungry and would make something for lunch later.

Miharu got dressed, slipping into a large sweater and putting socks over his cold feet. He padded into the living room and lay on the couch, flipping the TV to some game show. The sun was filtering through the blinds and shining right into his eyes, but he didn't get up to fix it. He was just about to drift off to sleep when his cell phone started ringing from the kitchen. He quickly swung off the couch and ran into the other room, his socks slipping on the tile floor as he skidded to a stop at the counter. He picked up the phone, expecting Yukimi's name, but instead it was Raimei. He didn't want to talk to her now...

"Hello," he said.

"Hey, Miharu," Raimei began in a soft tone, "How have you been? I want to see you sometime soon. I...I've missed you," she sounded on the verge of crying, "I know you've had a lot going on and haven't wanted to see anyone. I just... I really miss you and Kouichi and- I also think sensei wants to see you..."

Miharu couldn't think of anything to say, so he stayed quiet.

"Are you still there?" she asked, her voice evident of tears in her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Okay... Well, just please call me if you ever want to talk. Remember that I'm always here for you and I'm really sorry that I can't connect with you right now. I can't imagine the pain you're going through. And I hope Mr. Yukimi is taking care of you... I'll talk to you later, Miharu."

"Bye, Raimei," Miharu said quietly before ending the call.

He fell back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. No matter how much he or Raimei wished for things to go back to how they were, it wouldn't happen. Miharu constantly thought of wanting things to go back to how it had been. But, then again, he didn't quite know how everything used to be. There was someone missing now. And judging by the size of the hole in his heart, they were someone very important to him. And now he would maybe never have them back.

He lifted his hand up in front of his face. He would sometimes feel pain in the center of his palm, but there was never anything there. His eye would twitch with some unseen reason and his heart would ache at the most random of times. Pieces of this missing person had scattered into every detail of his life. There was a large chunk in his chest, a sliver lodged in his hand and in his eye. Yukimi had a large piece in his heart as well. And this very room probably held the largest piece of all. It was as if that person's soul rested here in the air. Miharu didn't know how he could stand it. He questioned why the two of them stayed here when it only caused unnecessary pain and immense longing for someone they didn't know. But maybe that's exactly the reason why they stayed. Maybe it was because it was the place where they remembered best, and even though remembering hurt, it also felt better than to completely forget.

Miharu squeezed his eyes closed tighter and shut off his train of thought. His head was starting to hurt.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Miharu was standing in the kitchen cooking okonomiyaki. It made him feel a little better to be standing behind a stove again. He enjoyed cooking. It was the one thing he felt like he was really good at. He felt useful this way. Like he wasn't just some dead object in the way of everyone. After the okonomiyaki was finished, he made some soup, and a bowl of udon. There were no more ingredients in the fridge or cabinets to make anything else, so he cleaned up and made himself a small plate of food. The rest went into the fridge for later.

The rest of the afternoon passed in monotonous solitude and Miharu was sitting in the living room floor with a cup of warm lemon cider and Yoite curled in his lap. Quiet piano music floated through the air from the stereo. He liked listening to the CD's Yukimi kept on the shelf.

Miharu sat there for a long time and watched the sunset move the shadows on the floor until the room slipped into darkness. Yoite had long jumped from his lap and was off in the other room, asleep.

Miharu got to his feet and turned off the stereo. The room was quiet again and the silence weighed down on him. He pressed play on the stereo again, restarting the music. It made the night seem less heavy. He slipped off to Yukimi's room and curled up under the blankets. Within a few minutes, he was asleep. Waiting impatiently for Yukimi to be back tomorrow, because Miharu didn't know if he could stand another day of emptiness by himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Yukimi quietly unlocked the door and stepped into his apartment. It was nearly pitch black. The only light was from the moon outside the window opposite him. Soft music played from across the room. "Miharu, I'm home early," he said to the empty space. _He's probably asleep already._

A shadow moved in the faint moonlight and a soft meow reached his ears in the darkness. "Hey, Yoite," he leaned down to rub the cat behind his ears.

Yukimi put his coat away and dropped his bag on the floor near the door. Making sure to keep quiet, he slipped off his shoes and padded, sock-footed across the room. Yoite followed behind him, trailing at his feet. He shut off the music and the room fell into silence. He sighed, staring at the city lights outside. He loved the view from here. Standing in the silence while staring out at a bustling city of noise and lights was satisfying. Yukimi stepped back and nearly fell as his foot hit something on the ground.

He knelt down to find his expensive camera laying on the floor. "Really, brat?" he picked it up and set it on the desk. Out of curiosity, he clicked it on and went to the photo gallery. About fifty new photos greeted him and he slowly scrolled through them. The first fifteen or so were of Yoite; the cat was either sniffing the lens or looking as uninterested as could be. One shot framed the cat against the window. There were a few of his desk chair from different perspectives and then some shots of under the couch. Yukimi couldn't help but laugh. He'd clean under there later. Then the next set of photos were of Miharu himself. Yukimi paused, staring at those solemn eyes. He knew that expression. Yukimi finished looking through the photos, smiling at the beautiful sunset pictures. He'd print out a few for the brat tomorrow.

His stomach growled impatiently so he turned off the camera and wandered into the kitchen. The refridgerator light cast a soft yellow glow on the laminate flooring. He was expecting nothing to be in there, honestly. So when three bowls of leftovers were sitting on the shelf with his name tapped on them, Yukimi was pleasantly surprised. "Little brat," he whispered with a smile, "You didn't have to do that." He heated up a bowl of rice and vegetables, stopping the microwave at 1 second to prevent the loud beeping.

He ate in silence, listening to the complete quiet of the apartment and staring at a small sliver of light coming in from the window. Yoite purred and brushed against his legs.

"Did you two have fun without me here?" He asked the cat, leaning down to pet Yoite's head, "I missed you guys."

Yoite continued to purr and rub against his hand, begging for attention. Yukimi sighed, "Were you lonely?" Yoite only meowed in response and walked away.

Yukimi stared after the cat, watching him flick his tail before curling into a ball by the heater.

Yukimi yawned and turned away, putting his dishes in the sink. He stripped off his over-shirt as he walked to his room, fully prepared to fall onto his bed and sleep for as long as he could. He had more work to do tomorrow. _Why don't I ever get a break?_ He groaned internally.

Yukimi didn't bother to turn on the light in his room, the lights from outside his bedroom window were bright enough to make out shapes in the room. He stopped in the doorway, staring at the figure curled up in his bed. Miharu was furrowed under the blankets with the covers pulled up to his mouth, leaving only the top half of his face visible.

Yukimi felt a small smile pass his lips before he retreated out of the room and silently shut the door. He walked down the hall to Miharu's room and slipped into the empty bed. Despite being in an unfamiliar room, he fell right asleep.

He had missed being home.

* * *

 **My random drabbles:**

 **Ah, its so weird writing Yoite as a cat. Like I imagine the person before I think of the cat even though I'm writing it!**

 **Also, I think it's really interesting how, when the manga keeps going after Yoite disappears, it actually feels like he never existed. Like, no one mentions him because they don't know. And he's gone from the character lists and I really love it, how it makes it seem real. But it's honestly like a completely different story after chapter 50. (And yet still amazing if not better.) I really wish they had waited on the anime and done an entire manga adaptation. I'm guessing they started before the manga completed and that's why it's so different at the endings.**

 **And I just wanted to comment about Yukimi's apartment. All the fanfics I've read always say there is only one bedroom. And I do totally agree. It makes sense that he would only have a one bedroom apartment. And I realize that Yoite is only ever seen in the living room. But honestly, I feel like there's another room in that apartment. Maybe it was meant to be an office or something, but logically I can't imagine Yoite living in the den. He has to have at least a tiny room somewhere he sleeps or changes clothes or something. I dunno; that's just me. Really this was all to explain why Miharu has his own room, because I understand that may be weird to some people. I mean, you only ever even see Yukimi's bedroom ONCE in the manga and never in the anime. I think there's a lot to the apartment we don't know and my mental image of it is the living room, an archway to the kitchen that leads off to a small hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom.**

 **Fun Fact:**

 **I was editing this before I posted it and changed something to "he snuck out of the room" and the program I'm using to type it said "snuck" wasn't a word. So I googled it and looked up Sneaked vs. Snuck. _Sneaked_ is the correct term, but _snuck_ has become more and more common nowadays.  
Its just funny because _sneaked_ sounds wrong to me. **

**-And it reminds me of Gollum from LOTR;  
** **Sam: "** What are ya doing, sneaking around!?" **Gollum:** "Smeagol doesn't sneak." **Sam:** "Then what were you doing?" **Gollum:** "...sneaking."


End file.
